Inner member for containing wound wrapping film and wrapping film product provided with same

ABSTRACT

A inner member for an easy handling operation of a wrapping film to be used for wrapping food is formed by a body part  11  and a pinch part  13.  The body part  11  includes an upper piece  11   a,  a front piece  11   b  and a lower piece  11   c  for surrounding a wound wrapping film  20,  thereby forming a substantially U-shape cross section. The body part  11  further includes at a rear surface thereof a rear opening  11   d  through which the wound wrapping film  20  passes. The upper piece  11   a  is provided at a rear end thereof with a guide portion  12  having a substantially circular cross section. The pinch part  13  is swingably projected from a front upper end of the body part  11  and is positioned between a front wall  31  of a film storage box  31  and a vertical lid part  32   a  of a lid  32.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an inner member detachably provided to a film storage box, in which a wound wrapping film for wrapping food is stored, to enhance an easy handling operation of the wound wrapping film. The present invention also relates to a wrapping film product including the inner member.

BACKGROUND ART

Wound wrapping films for wrapping foods have been widely used (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The wound wrapping films each are, in general, stored in a film storage box made of paper and having a cutting blade. The wound wrapping film is pulled out of the box for a certain length as the tip end thereof is pinched by and pulled by fingers, and the wrapping film being pulled out is cut by the cutting blade for use.

PRIOR ART LITERATURE Patent Literature

Patent Document 1: Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open Publication No. 5-13927

Patent Document 2: International Publication No. 2012/137383

Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-300525

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

The wound wrapping film for wrapping food is made of extremely thin transparent material, and thus handling operation of the film is often troublesome. For example, a wound wrapping film once pulled out of the box and used is often wound back by itself to the original place, causing the tip end of the film to attach to a body part (tubular part) of the film. In this case, it is necessary to pinch the tip end of the film to pull out of the box; however, finding the tip end of the film with eyes is considerably difficult and thus it takes considerable time in a pulling out operation of the film from the box.

In order to prevent such a wound back occurrence, a recently invented film storage box is provided at a front surface thereof with a glue surface on which the tip end of a wound wrapping film being pulled out is to be attached.

Unfortunately, the adhesiveness of the glue surface deteriorates as time passes, and the adhesive function of the glue surface is hence time limited.

The present invention has been accomplished in view of such problem, and it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an inner member that enhances handling operation of a wound wrapping film, for food, stored in a film storage box, and to provide a wrapping film product including the inner member.

Solution

The present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. An inner member 10 according to a first aspect of the present invention is detachably provided between a film storage box 30 and a wound wrapping film 20 stored in the film storage box 30, for an easy handling operation of the wound wrapping film 20 to be used for wrapping food. The film storage box 31 comprises a box body 31 and a lid 32 integrally formed with the box body 31. The box body 31 includes a front wall 31 a. The lid 32 includes a vertical lid part 32 a. The vertical lid part 32 a covers an upper portion of a front surface of the front wall 31 a and is provided at a lower end thereof with a cutting blade 33.

The inner member 10 includes a body part 11. The body part 11 includes an upper piece 11 a, a front piece 11 b and a lower piece 11 c for surrounding respectively an upper part, a front part and a lower part of the wound wrapping film 20. Thus, the body part 11 is provided with a substantially U-shape cross section. The body part 11 further includes at a rear surface thereof a rear opening 11 d through which the wound wrapping film 20 can pass through. The body part 11 further includes, at a rear end of the upper piece 11 a, a guide portion 12. The guide portion 12 has a substantially circular cross section for allowing a smooth passage of the wrapping film 20. The inner member 10 also includes a pinch part 13. The pinch part 13 is swingably projected from an upper front end of the body part 11. The pinch part 13 is positioned between the front wall 31 a of the box body 31 and the vertical lid part 32 a of the lid 31. The pinch part 13 has a front surface 13 a on which a front end 20 a of the wrapping film 20 is to be positioned.

A wrapping film product 1 according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a wound wrapping film 20 for wrapping food. The wrapping film product 1 also includes a film storage box 30. The film storage box 30 includes a box body 31 and a lid 32 integrally formed with the box body 31. The box body 31 includes a front wall 31 a. The lid 32 includes a vertical lid part 32 a that is provided at a lower end thereof with a cutting blade 33. The film storage box 30 is configured to store the wrapping film 20. The wrapping film product 1 also includes an inner member 10 detachably provided between the film storage box 30 and the wound wrapping film 20 for an easy handling operation of the wound wrapping film 20.

The inner member 10 includes a body part 11. The body part 11 includes, for surrounding an upper part, a front part and a lower part of the wound wrapping film 20, an upper piece 11 a, a front piece 11 b and a lower piece 11 c. Thus, the body part 11 is provided with a substantially U-shape cross section. The body part 11 further includes at a rear surface thereof a rear opening 11 d through which the wound wrapping film 20 can pass through. The body part 11 further includes, at a rear end of the upper piece 11 a, a guide portion 12. The guide portion 12 has a substantially circular cross section for a smooth passage of the wrapping film 20. The inner member 10 also includes a pinch part 13. The pinch part 13 is swingably projected from an upper front end of the body part 11. The pinch part 13 is positioned between the front wall 31 a of the box body 31 and the vertical lid part 32 a of the lid 31. The pinch part 13 has a front surface 13 a on which a front end 20 a of the wrapping film 20 is positioned.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The inner member 10 for a wound wrapping film includes the body part 11 that is configured by the upper piece 11 a having the guide portion 12, the front piece 11 b and the lower piece 11 c. The inner member 10 also includes the rear opening lid at a rear surface thereof and the pinch part 13 swingably projected from an upper front end of the body part 11. These arrangements allow an easy pulling out operation of the wrapping film 20 through the rear opening lid to the upper surfaces of the guide portion 12 and the upper piece 11 a and the front surface 13 a of the pinch part 13.

In addition, the pinch part 13 is positioned between the front wall 31 a of the film storage box 30 and the vertical lid part 32 a, so that a part of the wrapping film 20 placed on the front surface 13 a of the pinch part 13 can be firmly pressed against the cutting blade 33 provided to the vertical lid part 32 a.

That is, the pinch part 13 functions to eliminate a gap between the front wall 31 a and the vertical lid part 32 a, and two members of the pinch part 13 and the front wall 31 a together (thus, having improved rigidity) support the wrapping film from the back side of the film. This enables a firm and pressed contact of the wrapping film 20 against the cutting blade 33 provided to the vertical lid part 32 a. As a result, it can readily provide a sufficient complete cut of the wrapping film 20 without any midterm cutting failure or interruption.

Furthermore, the pinch part 13 eliminates a gap between the front wall 31 a and the vertical lid part 32 a provided with the cutting blade 33. Elimination of the gap prevents hooking of a finger that might otherwise be entered in the gap and hooked by the cutting blade 33. This can provide improved safety.

The front end 20 a of the wrapping film 20 after completion of the cutting operation naturally remains on the front surface 13 a of the pinch part 13. In order to pull out the wrapping film 20 remained on the front surface 13 a of the pinch part 13, a thumb T and an index finger F are used to allow pinching of the front end 20 a of the wrapping film 20 and pulling out of the film 20 therefrom. This enables a very easy pulling out operation of the wrapping film 20.

It should be noted that the pinch part 13 is configured to be swingable, so that the pinch part 13 can swing in any directions according to the directions to be pulled and that the wrapping film 20 can be pulled out more easily.

The wrapping film product 1 according the second aspect of the present invention includes the wound wrapping film 20, the film storage box 30 provided with the cutting blade 33, and the inner member 10 provided between the film storage box 30 and the wound wrapping film 20 and including the pinch part 13 positioned between the front wall 31 a of the film storage box 30 and the vertical lid part 32 a. Thus, as described above, the inner member 10 can readily provide a proper and complete cutting of the wound wrapping film 20 through the entire portion of the film 20 without any midway cutting failure or interruption.

In addition, the pinch part 13 eliminates a gap between the front wall 31 a and the vertical lid part 32 a, which prevents hooking of a finger by the cutting blade 33 provided to the vertical lid part 32 a, thereby improving the safety. Furthermore, the wrapping film 20 can be readily pulled out as the front end 20 a of the film 20 is pinched together with the pinch part 13 to be pulled out.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a wrapping film product according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view along the line X-X in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an inner member for a wound wrapping film according an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the wrapping film product shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein the wrapping film is being pulled out.

FIG. 5(a) and (b) are enlarged side views of a principal part of the wrapping film product shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein the wrapping film is being pulled out.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 3 illustrates an inner member 10 for a wound wrapping film according to an embodiment of the present invention. A wrapping film product 1 provided with the inner member 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. The inner member 10 is aimed to enhance the handling operation of a wound wrapping film 20 arranged to wrap food and stored in a film storage box 30. The film storage box 30 includes a box body 31 and a lid 32. The box body 31 has a front wall 31 a. The lid 32 has a vertical lid part 32 a that covers an upper part of a front surface of the front wall 31 a and that is provided at a lower end thereof with a cutting blade 33 having a sawtooth waveform.

The inner member 10 can be detachably provided between the film storage box 30 and the wound wrapping film 20 and configured to include a body part 11 and a pinch part 13. The inner member 10 may be made of any forming material, including and not exclusive, for example, paper or resin with a smooth surface.

The body part 11 is configured to surround an upper part, a front part and a bottom part of the wound wrapping film 20, and includes an upper piece 11 a, a front piece 11 b and a bottom piece 11 c, together forming a U-shape cross section. The body part 11 has at a rear surface thereof a rear opening lid that allows the wound wrapping film to pass therethrough. The upper piece 11 a is provided at a rear end thereof with a guide portion 12 that has a substantially circular cross section and functions to allow an easy passage of the wound wrapping film 20. The guide portion 12 and the upper piece 11 a each have a smooth upper surface.

The pinch part 13 is configured to project from a front upper end of the body part 11 and is able to swing about the base portion of the pinch part 13 in an up-and-down direction. The pinch part 13 is disposed between the front wall 31 a of the box body 31 and the vertical lid part 32 a of the lid 32. The pinch part 13 receives at a front surface 13 a thereof a front end 20 a of the wrapping film 20. The front surface 13 a of the pinch part 13 also has a smooth plane.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wrapping film product 1 provided with the inner member 10 includes, in addition to the inner member 10, a wound wrapping film 20 for wrapping food and a film storage box 30.

The wound wrapping film 20 includes a tubular core 21 made of paper and a transparent wrapping film, the film having a length of 20 to 40 meters and wound around the core 21.

The film storage box 30 includes a box body 31 and a lid 32. The box body 31 includes a front wall 31 a, a bottom wall 31 b, a rear wall 31 c and two side walls 31 d, which together form a longitudinal rectangular shape in a plan view. The lid 32 is integrally formed with the box body 31 and includes a horizontal lid part 32 b and a vertical lid part 32 a. The horizontal lid part 32 b covers an upper surface of the box body 31. The vertical lid part 32 a protrudes downward from the front end of the horizontal lid part 32 b and covers an upper part of a front surface of the front wall 31 a. The vertical lid part 32 a is provided with a cutting blade 33 at a lower end of the vertical lid part 32 a.

Similar to the film storage box 30, the inner member 10 is made of paper and is, as described above, detachably provided between the film storage box 30 and the wound wrapping film 20. The inner member 10 has a configuration similar to the one described abovementioned embodiment. The pinch part 13 of the inner member 10 has a length slightly greater than that of the vertical lid part 32 a of the film storage box 30, thereby allowing the cutting blade 33 to come to contact with the front surface 13 a of the pinch part 13 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). With such an arrangement, it becomes possible to readily cut a wrapping film 20.

The effects of the inner member 10 for a wound wrapping film and the wrapping film product 1 in accordance with the abovementioned embodiment will be described below.

The wound wrapping film 20 is used in such a manner that first the wrapping film product 1 according to the embodiment is unsealed (or in the case where a wrapping film product commercially available is used, the wrapping film product commercially available is unsealed and the inner member 10 according to the embodiment is installed thereto), then the wrapping film 20 is pulled out in accordance with a predetermined operation. With this pulling out operation, the wrapping film 20 being pulled out smoothly passes through the rear opening 11 d, the guide portion 12, the upper piece 11 a, and the front surface 13 a of the pinch part 13.

The wrapping film 20 being pulled out and passed through these components is cut in such a manner that the vertical lid part 32 a of the film storage box 30 is press-pushed against the front wall 31 a of the film storage box 30 so as to cut the film 20 by the cutting blade 33 provided to the lower end of the vertical lid part 32 a. In this instance, the pinch part 13 of the inner member 10 is positioned between the front wall 31 a and the vertical lid part 32 a of the film storage box 30, and the wrapping film 20 is positioned on the front surface 13 a of the pinch part 13. Thus, the wrapping film 20 is firmly and stably held between the vertical lid part 32 a and a combination of the pinch part 13 and the front wall 31 a.

Accordingly, the wrapping film 20 can be readily, properly and completely cut by the cutting blade 33 provided to the lower end of the vertical lid part 32 a without any midway cutting failure or interruption. In addition, no gap is allowed to be formed between the vertical lid part 32 a and the combination of the pinch part 13 and the front wall 31 a, which can prevent such an incidence that a finger accidentally enters a gap and is hooked by the cutting blade 33. This can provide improved safety.

Thus cut wrapping film 20 has a front end 20 a positioned between the vertical lid part 32 a and the pinch part 13 (that is, the front end 20 a is placed on the front surface 13 a of the pinch part 13) (see FIG. 2). In order to further pull out the wrapping film 20 in this condition, the lid 32 of the film storage box 30 is opened, and two fingers (thumb T and index finger F), for example, are used to pinch, together with the pinch part 13, the front end 20 a of the wrapping film 20 positioned on the pinch part 13 and pull them out together (see FIG. 4). Here, the pinch part 13 is configured to be swingable, so that the pinch part 13 is swung into a position easily pinched. This allows an easier pinching operation.

Then, the wrapping film 20 and the pinch part 13 are together pulled. This pulling out operation allows only the wrapping film 20 to be readily pulled out since the pinch part 13 is unmovably secured to the body part 11 (see FIG. 5) . Fora subsequent cutting operation, the lid 32 of the film storage box 30 is closed and the cutting blade 33 is used for cutting the film 20, as described above.

After cutting, the front end 20 a of the wrapping film 20 is positioned on the front surface 13 a of the pinch part 13, as described above. In addition, the wrapping film 20 is covered, at the upper part thereof, by the upper piece 11 a. Thus, even if the wrapping film 20 is slightly wound back accidentally, it becomes possible to surely prevent the front end 20 a from being wound around the body part (tubular portion) of the wound wrapping film 20 and from being attached to the body part.

It should be noted that in this embodiment the inner member 10 is provided with the guide portion 12, and the guide portion 12 has a smooth upper surface while the pinch part 13 has a smooth front surface 13 a (upper surface). These arrangements allow an easy and smooth pulling out operation of the wrapping film 20.

In addition, the inner member 10 is provided with the upper piece 11 b and the lower piece 11 c surrounding the front and lower portions of the wound wrapping film 20, so that the wound wrapping film 20 can be stored in the film storage box 30 in a stable posture.

The inner member 10 for a wound wrapping film and the wrapping film product 1 including the inner member 10 provide the following effects.

(1) The inner member 10 is provided with the pinch part 13, and the pinch part 13 is positioned between the front wall 31 a and the vertical lid part 32 a of the film storage box 30. This arrangement allows an easy, proper and complete cutting operation of the wrapping film 20 by the cutting blade 33 without any midway cutting failure or interruption.

(2) The pinch part 13 of the inner member 10 is provided with the length that is slightly greater than that of the vertical lid part 32 a of the film storage box 30, and the cutting blade 33 is arranged to contact the front surface 13 a of the pinch part 13. This permits an easy cutting operation of the wrapping film 20.

(3) The pinch part 13 being provided functions to eliminate any gap that will otherwise be formed between the vertical lid part 32 a provided with the cutting blade 33 and the front wall 31 a. This configuration prevents the cutting blade 33 from adversely hooking a finger, thereby providing improved safety.

(4) The front end 20 a of the wrapping film 20 is positioned on the front surface 13 a of the pinch part 13, so that the front end 20 a can be readily pinched and pulled out.

(5) The inner member 10 is provided with the guide portion 12 with a circular cross section, thereby allowing an easy pulling out operation of the wrapping film 20 through the rear opening 11 d.

(6) The guide portion 12, the upper piece 11 a and the front surface 13 of the pinch part 13 each have a smooth surface, so that the wrapping film 20 can be smoothly and readily pulled out.

(7) The inner member 10 is provided with the front piece 11 b and the lower piece 11 c, whereby the wrapping film 20 can be stored in the film storage box 30 in a stable posture.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

1: wrapping film product

10: inner member

11: body part

11 a: upper piece

11 b: front piece

11 c: lower piece

11 d: rear opening

12: guide portion

13: pinch part

13 a: front surface

20: wrapping film

20 a: front end

21: core

30: film storage box

31: box body

31 a: side wall

31 b: bottom wall

31 c: rear wall

31 d: side wall

32: lid

32 a: vertical lid part

32 b: horizontal lid part

33: cutting blade

F: index finger

T: thumb 

What is claimed is:
 1. An inner member (10) detachably provided between a film storage box (30) and a wound wrapping film (20) stored in the film storage box for an easy handling operation of the wrapping film to be used for wrapping food, the film storage box comprising a box body (31) and a lid (32) integrally formed with the box body, the box body including a front wall (31 a), the lid (32) including a vertical lid part (32 a), the vertical lid part covering an upper portion of a front surface of the front wall and including at a lower end of the vertical lid part a cutting blade (33), the inner member comprising: a body part (11), the body part including an upper piece (11 a), a front piece (11 b) and a lower piece (11 c) for surrounding respectively an upper part, a front part and a lower part of the wound wrapping film, the body part thereby having a substantially U-shape cross section, the body part further including at a rear surface thereof a rear opening (11 d) through which the wound wrapping film passes through, the body part further including at a rear end of the upper piece a guide portion (12), the guide portion having a substantially circular cross section for allowing a smooth passage of the wrapping film; and a pinch part (13), the pinch part swingably projected from an upper front end of the body part, the pinch part being positioned between the front wall of the box body and the vertical lid part of the lid, the pinch part having a front surface (13 a) on which a front end (20 a) of the wrapping film is to be positioned.
 2. A wrapping film product comprising: a wound wrapping film (20) for wrapping food; a film storage box (30) including a box body (31) and a lid (32) integrally formed with the box body, the box body including a front wall (31 a), the lid including a vertical lid part (32 a) provided at a lower end thereof with a cutting blade (33), the film storage box storing the wrapping film; and an inner member (10) detachably provided between the film storage box and the wound wrapping film for an easy handling operation of the wound wrapping film, wherein the inner member including: a body part (11), the body part including an upper piece (11 a), a front piece (11 b) and a lower piece (11 c) for surrounding respectively an upper part, a front part and a lower part of the wound wrapping film, the body part thereby having a substantially U-shape cross section, the body part further including at a rear surface thereof a rear opening (11 d) through which the wound wrapping film passes through, the body part further including at a rear end of the upper piece a guide portion (12), the guide portion having a substantially circular cross section for a smooth passage of the wrapping film; and a pinch part (13), the pinch part swingably projected from an upper front end of the body part, the pinch part being positioned between the front wall of the box body and the vertical lid part of the lid, the pinch part having a front surface (13) on which a front end (20 a) of the wrapping film is positioned. 